The government of Pedro San Ginés left more than 300 unresolved files in the Heritage area of the Cabildo, which remained open "without justification or apparent motivation." This has been revealed by the current president and head of Heritage, María Dolores Corujo, who states that of nearly 350 files, "only 11 had been archived by the outgoing team."
Now, she highlights that the restructuring of the Island Heritage Service last March has allowed "a turnaround in the operation of this department of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, which is up to date in its tasks and without pending requests." Among other things, in the last six months, 50 intervention authorizations and 90 reports have been issued.
In addition, she adds that in this period the file for the declaration of the hermitage of San Antonio as an Asset of Cultural Interest has been initiated, the regulations of the Island Heritage Commission have been drafted; two public tenders have been called and awarded and "the first steps have been taken to investigate several complaints made by the Inspection", as well as resolving 20 pending files from the previous year, "among many other issues."
Of the files that the government of San Ginés did not resolve, the Cabildo points out that "almost 70 were related to interventions in heritage elements that had not been processed despite having favorable reports, in some cases since August 2017." In addition, half a hundred had follow-up or complaint reports that had not been processed either.
"It is a senseless paradox, one more, of a president who was only concerned with presuming good management before public opinion. It is not rational, it cannot be understood in any way that the same person who with his inaction allowed the abandonment of the Heritage Service of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, is the same one who squandered millions of euros of taxpayers in the acquisition of a house in ruins under the pretext of protecting the heritage, we still do not know if the island's or someone else's," Corujo questioned. The president has thus referred to the relationship that Pedro San Ginés had with the daughter of the owners of that property, and that he himself described as "sudden."
Requests unattended by Seprona and procedures "of vital importance"
Among the files that have had to be reassigned and that were unprocessed were also several reports of need, some of them related to the obligation to adapt to the provisions of the new Law of Cultural Heritage, such as the Island Catalog. "In addition to being mandatory, it is an urgent need taking into account the state of the island's heritage," Corujo stressed.
There were also unattended requests from Seprona and others of "vital importance", such as the contracting of a maintenance and conservation service for the Zonzamas site. "To repair this grievance committed to our heritage, we have drafted the specifications and, precisely, today awarded the contracts for the maintenance of this space, on the one hand, and to continue with the excavations that are being carried out both in Zonzamas and in Fiquinineo, on the other," the president detailed.
After the restructuring carried out in March, the Island Heritage Service has initiated the file of Asset of Cultural Interest of the hermitage of San Antonio, in Tías, and has drafted the technical reports to initiate almost a dozen more. In this line, it points out that the technical staff of the department presented four proposals before March 2020, date on which the Government of the Canary Islands decreed the expiration of several BIC files, which "were also not processed, despite the need transmitted from the Inspection since 2018."
Regarding the regulations of the Island Heritage Commission, which have already been drafted adapting it to the new Law of Cultural Heritage in force since June 2019, it is pending approval by the Plenary. "This ordinance is essential to be able to convene the Island Heritage Commission and give way to the files still pending from an organization that met for the last time on an ordinary basis last October," explain from the Cabildo.
Finally, they point out that the Heritage Service of the Cabildo of Lanzarote has also promoted the project of the Zonzamas Site Museum, in collaboration with the Government of the Canary Islands, and that it has started the works of the house on Fajardo Street. This has been closed for years - only two lateral naves were opened - and waiting for an intervention to solve the serious structural problems of the building.
The president and councilor of the Heritage Area wanted to thank "the participation, collaboration and involvement of the technical staff in the transformation of a department that today is agile, modern and proactive, and that proposes solutions to those who want to recover the heritage of the island."
In addition, she has assured that she will continue "working to correct the errors committed by who was president of this Institution who, with his inaction and neglect, demonstrated the little or no interest he had in the conservation of the island's heritage."
